Wedding ideas and scrapbooking sweet things

A few scrapbook projects I've created for Aussie Scrap Source lately... both had a touch of Germany in their subjects ;) The layout above was for a Prima Marketing weekend inspiration post. I'm not usually very flowery, but I loved these aqua and green toned paper roses, and the metal flower pieces were just awesome. I'd love to see them as jewellery!

Then we were asked to create a wedding event range, sponsored by Sizzix, which was new for me. I borrowed my sister's cuttlebug and used some embossing and cutting dies for the first time in years! I used Cosmo Cricket's Sweet Disposition mini-range, which I just love, and added a natural rustic kind of feel. In the layout at the end I use a photo I took at my friend Sylvia's wedding in Germany some years ago, and the baby girl in the first layout is her daughter who Sienna and I got to meet last November :)

My scrappy inspiration has come and gone and come back again in all different directions lately, but I've created a double page for an upcoming post (just yesterday) that I really love, so I'm feeling a bit excited again... I will share when it has appeared on the Aussie Scrap Source blog, promise!

Punchy pages and cute cousins

After a drought of words, I just wanted to share two recent scrapbook layouts - this photo of Alannah and Sienna is one of my favourite images lately. I've also made a mini album of photos from that little photo shoot, which I'll share in a few weeks or so :) Plus, here is a slideshow video I made of the session!

Each of these layouts was created for Aussie Scrap Source using different kind of punches, for a series that was on the blog last term. I've been enjoying a kind of whimsically watercolour-ish feel to my pages lately.

Watercolour scrapbooking

Here are a few recent projects for Aussie Scrap Source. I've just noticed I'm liking a watercolour feel in my scrapbooking lately...

Calendar scrap challenge

This page is my contribution to the Aussie Scrap Source build a calendar challenge - keep an eye on the blog to see the design team's pages unfolding over the coming weeks :)

I love this photo of Cedar in the bath from last year, and it's a fantastic quote too! I adore quotes, especially to accompany pictures.

Scrappity catch up

This first page was for a blog post introducing new brand Carta Bella, supplied by Aussie Scrap Source, my favourite Australian scrapbooking wholesaler, funnily enough ;)

I loved making this layout for Aussie Scrap Source's mixed media focus on collage. It was messy and intuitive and fun. Plus I love these greens and the patchwork alphabet.

This one was for an October Afternoon weekend inspiration post, with a cute old print from the first time we went to Europe. This is Sienna, just under a year and a half, in a cafe in Notting Hill, London :)

These two pages above were from a highs and lows focus on the Aussie blog, where you scrapped something positive and something not so positive.

Wonder Girl is one of my layouts in the current issue of Scrapbook Creations. This one was for a project feature about using acetone to rub on the pattern from an overlay. I have a colour layout in this issue but I can't find the picture right now.

OK just a quick catch up there :) We are on school holidays now, and the kids are on the tail end of a gastro sort of bug, lots of fun there :P On Friday we head to Adelaide for a few days, and on Monday I have a photography workshop in Mount Barker scheduled for the whole day, in two parts though. So far it looks like it will be a one on one mentor session with one attendee, but I'm cool with that too ;)

I will need volunteer subjects for a photo session that Monday, a family would be ideal I think... I have my sources but if anyone is particularly keen to volunteer, let me know ASAP!

Mixed Media Techniques

Over on the Aussie Scrap Source blog this term we have a new series on mixed media techniques, which is something right up my alley :) As a big fan of getting all messy with it, I'm looking forward to each week's post on a different avenue of mixed media.

My first layout for the series is this woodgrain-focussed page about Sylvia, as a new mama-of-two, I just loved the photo so much. My page isn't all that mixed media-ish, though it uses a few different mediums of paint and ink to enhance and customise the paper's woodgrain pattern.

Pretty pictures

I actually had even more fun than usual with this Hambly page, using as many of their products on one page as I could! So sad that they are closing down! Even though I know Alison's designs are being made by Echo Park next, I have just adored this transparency transfer technique lately.  Anyway, I love it because it reminds me of a gift from a friend, and because it is about me for a change and about how I feel right now. And because it's pretty, with the misted colours and teal / yellow focus, two of my most frequently worn colours at the moment too.

These pages were made for Aussie Scrap Source and you can see lots of gorgeous contributions over at the blog!

 

 This page used Crate Paper and was a fun non-standard way to scrapbook a "first day of school" photo ;) Mostly I was playing with freestyle here, and playing with paint and mist and randomness with the Crate Paper stickers and paper, and tiny gilt frame!

Day 21 - Doing things

Doing things, and keeping on doing things. I am grateful for that. It's an approach to life, I think, and a bit of an attitude thing. Proactive, I guess? Persistent, perhaps. Stubborn, probably. It's kind of the opposite of a victim mentality, or a waiting attitude. Taking action. I'm not an insanely active person, or anything, but I do try to deliberately focus on what I can do, instead of what I don't like, and it's an approach I am grateful for as it is a good starting point on the days when things seem like too much.

For instance, today we had a good first session with Sienna's new psychologist. And I thought to myself, yes, I'm glad I did the research and made the appointments and got the referral and so on. Deciding that something wasn't working, and doing something about it. And then, in the spirit of this blog series, I thought I am grateful that I have that response, reasonably naturally, to pursue solutions instead of dwelling on problems. I think of the problems, they make me feel crap, I do my best to push them aside and go, "Right, what can I do about it?"

Occasionally I do spend a day reading (while parenting, of course, as with everything) in complete denial of my to-do list, true, but a delaying tactic is sometimes just some much-needed time off. And then it's back on. A couple of things I read today also reminded me of this feeling - one was the blog of my friend Lauren. She was talking about weight loss, becoming strong and healthy. Reflecting on her amazing progress in order to remind herself that she is doing something good, she is getting somewhere, and she can keep going toward her goals, dreams, ideals. It's in her power.

Another reminder was my friend Lou talking on Facebook about making progress in the scrapbooking industry. She had a friendly rant about not giving up, putting in the dedication to your goals and dreams, waiting it out, keeping on trying. Good things will come, and do. Don't give up quickly, time could be needed to see your ideas pan out. It is an approach I like, especially when feeling hopeless about something - take action, it's the only thing you can actually DO about making things better.

Edited to add: I just went and read another fave blog of mine Maxabella Loves and just had to add here one of her comments today: "From now on, every To Do list will include a To Doing component to make sure we are heading in the right direction. Life can just go on without focus if we let it." Love it.




So I remind myself, with decisions to make about which fencing quote to go with, or whether to get another, and research about other renovations which may be possible over the next however-long. Travel which may be possible depending on saving and earning. Creative satisfaction which may be possible if I take time to do the work. If I make things work. I remind myself: don't feel helpless, help yourself. Work out how you can make it work out. Make another list - even though you lose most that you write - and get things out of your head and into the real world. Commit, to yourself, to making things happen. Step by little step. And remember to feel grateful along the way.

And I am.


Images are of the K&Co Smash Journal - Eco Green - that I worked on for Aussie Scrap Source. I love this journal, and will gradually share more pages as I fill them with dreams, plans and actions.

I am blogging grateful posts for the 21 challenge, raising awareness and funds for Australia's homeless youth. This is my last day and I am at 86% of my goal - thank you! Only $40 to go until I meet my target of raising $300 for Open Family Australia :)
 

If you would like to sponsor me or donate to the challenge, please click here.

Day 15 - Imagination

Today I am grateful for playing, dreaming, creating things, inventions, make believe and pretend.... My favourite things about childhood, and my favourite things to observe (and hopefully facilitate) in my own kids.

This layout I did for the 'White Space' design challenge over at Aussie Scrap Source. It's a reader challenge, too, so you can also participate for the chance to win some goodies! Click over to the blog to have a look...

Today we are going to the Melbourne Museum to learn about The Wonders of Ancient Mesopotamia, since the kids have a curriculum day at school while the teachers write reports and whatnot. We're going to have dinner out afterwards, which will be nice, and may even help us avoid the appalling Friday night traffic in the city. Or it might not, hehe. I was going to take us all on the train, but worked out that it will cost DOUBLE what parking at the Museum will cost us (as members). So we shall drive forth!

It's noon now and we are about to head out. Hence the early-in-the-day post :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Day 4 - Deadlines

Aussie Scrap Source have two brand inspiration posts on their blog every Friday, and I created these two layouts for the October Afternoon feature last week. I used the Sasparilla range to create two pages in quite different styles. I remember sitting at Bec's kitchen table making these when we were in Adelaide in the April school holidays, with the kids also crafting away in between watching a movie or two and playing with Napoleon!

This morning Cedar was telling me "Beccy is at work" (somehow I doubt it, as it was 6:30am in Adelaide) and "Napoleon is in Beccy's house". It's funny how different family members come to his mind at random moments, it's very cute.

Today I am grateful for deadlines. Without assignments and deadlines - I design for Aussie Scrap Source and Scrapbook Creations Magazine colour team at the moment - I may have lost the habit of scrapping. I do enjoy it.




I am blogging grateful posts for the 21 challenge, raising awareness and funds for Australia's homeless youth.

If you would like to sponsor me or donate to the challenge, please click here.

Paint and pieces of things

On Wednesday it was a public holiday, so I decided to make it a painting day.



I put out all my paints and the kids paints and some inks and crayons etc on the kitchen table, found some paper and brushes and smocks. I also had some canvas panels set aside to be used for the 'Not the Archies' project, which I had registered myself, Sienna and Ash for. So we did painting, and portraits. It was a nice way to spend a day, though the kids lasted about half the day before pottering about doing other things. Scroll down for the artwork :)

Here are a few scrapbooking projects I've complete for Aussie Scrap Source recently.... the first one was for the Trends post on quilting. The second layout features Echo Park products, and the cards were for the Thank You cards feature... Click over to check out the rest of the blog posts, there is much inspiration to be had!

 

So these - below - are the portraits we painted. Sienna was painting Imogen. She began on paper and did the painting on the right, but then wrote a little note that "It's too hard" and put it in front of me looking a bit upset. While I was encouraging, she was frustrated at not being able to paint how she would like, but perked up when she started creating simpler drawings. So she ended up painting this larger piece of Imogen with a kite.



Ash's portraits were both of Ben, he really got into it and was quite happily painting away without much angst at all, which was great. I love his big piece :)

 

I ended up doing a quick practice piece on paper of my friend Nadya and was going for a fairly loose style, thinking I may end up doing something a bit abstract, but then changed to a photo of Imogen for the larger piece just because I love the dreamy feel of her expression and the light background. It ended up being quite impressionistic. I dropped the three canvas panel portraits off to Healesville this morning.

On Tuesday afternoon, I went to Monbulk College and taught a mixed media workshop to the year 12 Photo Media class there. Carli Wilson, of Barnaby & Wilson Photography, teaches there and had asked me to come in. It was really fun and interesting, the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves, and I might be teaching another to year 11s soon.

I went to an AIPP print critique night on Tuesday evening, which was pretty confronting as much as it was very interesting, quite educational and a little bit frustrating. I really loved seeing the variety of styles and genres shot, and came away looking with a bit more interest at my nature and travel shots instead of just focusing on portraits. I might talk about that later, I have thoughts that are still mulling and developing over this whole professional awards season thingy, I'm still not clear on how I feel about my place in it. And it's not over until June, so we'll see.

And now I am meant to be making a lasagna for tomorrow's dinner, since I will be out doing a photo session in the afternoon (weather going well). But I'm procrastinating :P Chicken and leeks, here I come...